Cultivator



AFeliu 20, 1951 w. A. HARPER 2,542,195

CULTIVATOR Filed Aug. 3, 1948 2 Shets-Sheet 2 lNvENToR WESLEY AHARPER ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 20, 1951 CULTIVATOR Wesley A. Harper, Bellevue Ohio, assignor to National Farm Machinery Bellevue, Ohio; a. corporation Cooperativa, Inc., of Ohio ApplicationAugust 3, 1948, Serial No. 42,249'

Claims. 1i

This invention relates. to cultivators generally, and is concerned primarily withY certain improvements in what is known as a two-row corn and cotton planter.

A cultivator of the type with which this in.- vention is concerned ordinarily includes. a front gang of cultivating elements and also a. rear gang.

It is common practice to detachably mount the rear gang on thetractor, and provision must be made for not onlyv establishing this. detachable connection, but also. for raising and lower ing both the gangs as occasion demands.

At the present time there are cultivators of this general type in use,` but these known cultivators are characterized by the inclusion of an exceedingly large number of pins bolts, cot* ter keys, and similar devices which are neces sary for establishing the various connections..

With the foregoing conditions in. mind, the present inventionV has in View as its. foremost objective, the provision ofa cultivator of thecharacter above noted, inv which the number of bolts,

pinsA and cotter. keys has been materially reduced through-themedium of providing new and improved connections atvarious-points.

According to this invention, the rear gang of implements is pivotally connected toV ther-ear of the tractor on a transverse axis and includes an arm which upstands therefrom and to which is detachably connected a rodor lift-link which raises and lowers the rear gang.

Another important object of the. invention is the provision of a new andimproved detachable connection between the upper end of this arm and lift link. In attaining this object the upper end of the arm,.which4 is in the form oi a flat bar, is twisted through substantially 90V degrees, and the twistedportion formed withan openwhich slidably receives the lift link.

A collar ismounted on the lift link in position to engage or abut the upper end ofl the arm. The colar comprises spaced` sidelpieces-that are formed with openings in` alignmentwith the opening in the end of thearmandf which: receive the lift link.

The side pieces are joinedbyatopplate'f that is integrally connected therewith, and a bolt is passed through an opening in the top plate and screwed into a nut positioned therebeneath, whereby its lower end is adapted to engage the lift link. Upon tightening' of the bolt a, firm anchorage is established, andl upon loosening of the bolt the connection is loosenedso asto permitthe link to be withdrawn. in the arm and collar.

from the openings r The main body of the cultivator includes. a rock; shaft which is hydraulically actuated to either raisev or lower the front and rear gangs.

Another object of the invention is the provision of new andA improved,instrumentalities for operatively connecting the front. and: rear gangs to this rock shaft;

More in detail= the invention1 has as its object the provision of connecting instrumentalities of the type aforesaid, which comprise a fabricated U-shaped lever which is driva-bly connected to the rock shaft at a point in close proximity to the bend inV the U-shaped lever, and with the arm making up said lever disposed substantially normal to theaxisofthe. rock shaft..

At a point removed from the free ends of this lever, and which point is accurately-f predetermined, a pin extends across the arms. The forward end of the lift link which. actuates the rear gang is formed with a hook'whichis received between the arms and tted over this pini Between thispin and the freeeends of the lever arms the latter. arel provided with aligned openings and received therebetween. is a bracket plate which carries a link extending to the. front gang. This bracket plateA isi. formed with anV opening in alignmentwith the openings in. the arms, and a pin passes throught the aligned: openings, the pin being held in position by a cotter key.

This bracket-plate is so dimensioned at its lower free end, that while permitting a certain amount of movement on the part of the hook at the end of the lift link forthe rear gang, it prevents removal of the hook from the pin with which it is engaged;

Various other more detailed objects and` advantages of the invention such as arise in carrying out the above noted ideas in a practical embodiment will in part become apparent and in part be hereinafter stated as the description of the invention proceeds.

The invention therefore comprises certain novel connections for a. cultivator of the type of av tworow corn and cotton planter and which connections consist of a-I detachable and rotatable connection between the shaft of the rear gang and the aX'le housing` of' the tractor, a new type of collar connection between an arm upstanding from the rear gang and. a lift link, and new connecting instrumentalities between: the front end of the lift link, a lift link going to. the front gang, and a rocker shaft.

For.` a full and. more complete understanding of the invention reference may be had to the following description and accon'lpanyingv drawings wherein:

Figure l is a perspective looking from the rear of a portion of a cultivator including the improvements of this invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged detailed view of the U-shaped lever which is employed in establishing the connection between the front and rear gangs and the rock shaft. In this view one arm of the lever is broken away to bring out details of construction; and

Figure 3 is a view in front elevation looking at the U-shaped lever but with parts broken away and shown in section.

Referring now to the drawings, and first more particularly to Figure l, a cultivator is partially depicted therein and referred to in itsentirety by the reference character C. This cultivator is a machine which is known as a two-row corn and cotton planter. Obviously, this machine will include many devices and mechanisms which are not particularly pertinent to the present invention and hence will not be herein described.

The present invention is concerned primarily with the rear gang which is referred to in its entirety by the reference character R, the mechanisms employed for mounting this rear gang on the rear axle housing, which is shown at l5, and the means for raising and lowering the rear gang R in conjunction with the front gang (not illustrated).

As shown in Figure l the rear axle housing l@ has permanently secured thereon a pair of brackets designated Il and l2. These brackets may be secured to the rear axle housing in any preferred manner, such as by the headed bolts at i3.

Outstanding from each of the brackets i l and l2 and included as an essential part thereof is a plate i4 which is secured to the main body of the bracket in any preferred manner, such as by welding.

Each of the plates i4 is formed with a bearing Arecess to receive the support shaft of the associated implement gang.

The rear gang R comprises a main bar i9 `which is curved adjacent to its outer free end to provide an end portion 25 that carries the cultivating elements represented at 2l. Between the main body part of the bar i9 and this end portion 2d is a bend 22. Another bar 23 has an end portion that is curved to conform to the curvature of the bend 22 to which it is anchored in any preferred manner, such as by welding.

Extending across the free ends of the bars I9 and 23 is a shaft 24. This shaft 24 is journaled in the plates ill. This arrangement provides for pivotal movement of gang R in a vertical plane.

An arm 25, which preferably takes the form of a iiat bar, has its lower end secured to the main body bar as by the welded joint shown at 21 in Figure l. This arm 2t upstands in a generally vertical direction and the upper end portion thereof is twisted through substantially 90 degrees, as indicated at 28, to provide a tab 29 which is formed with an opening (not illustrated) A lift link 3l! takes the form of a round rod and this link passes through the opening in the tab 2S. A collar at A clamped on rod 3i) by bolt 38 abuts tab 29 to exert lifting force on the rear gangs.

When it is desired to break the connection all that is required is to loosen the bolt 38 to withdraw its free end from engaging the lift link 3B. When this is accomplished the collar A and arm may be removed from the lift link 30.

A rock shaft, positioned about midway of the tractor, is designated 40. The rock shaft 40 is designed to be hydraulically actuated, such as by the hydraulic mechanism represented at Hin Figure 1.- However, it is noted that the particular means employed to rotate the rock shaft 4B is not a part of this invention. It is suiiicient to point out that the rock shaft 40 is employed as the source from which power is taken to raise or lower the rear gang R and the front gang from which the front lift link 4I extends.

The rock shaft 40 is formed with a keyway 42 in which is fitted a key 43 that projects beyond the cylindrical surface of the shaft 4D.

A U-shaped lever is referred to in its entirety by the reference character L and comprises arms 44 and 45 which preferably are in the form of iiat bars integrally connected by a bend 45. This bend 46 is formed in a slot 41, which slot is continued up into the arms 44 and 45 an appreciable distance. The rock shaft 4] is received in the slot The arms 44 and 45 are aiso formed with notches 48 in which the key 43 is received. The key 43 may be welded to the arms lf3 and 45 as represented at 49. Thus, the driving relation between the lever L and rock shaft @El is established by the key.

In order to prevent removal of the lever L from the rock shaft 46 a bolt 50 is received within the bend 416 and has a head at one end (not illustrated) and carries a nut 5I which is threaded on the other.

Extending between the arms 4t and 45 at a point spaced an appreciable distance from the free ends thereof is a cross pin 52. The lift link 36 is formed at its front free end with a hook 53 that fits over the cross pin 52.

So long as the the space between the free ends of the arms 44 and 45 is unrestricted, the hook 53 may be either removed or positioned. However, it is intended that after the hook 53 is positioned on the cross pin 52, it be maintained in assembled relation by a bracket plate 54 that is carried by the front lift link 4l. This bracket plate 55 may be joined with the front lift link 4l in any preferred manner, such as by the welded joint shown at 55.

In assembled relation the bracket plate 54 is fitted between the free ends of the arms it and 45. These arms and the bracket plate are formed with openings which align and a pin 55 passes through the aligned openings.

One end of this pin 56 is provided with a head as shown at 5T, while the other end is formed with an openingat 58 for receiving one leg 59 of a cotter key 6G. This cotter key is carried at the end of a chain 6l, with the other end being connected to a tie 62. A washer is shown vat 63 as being carried beneath the head 5i and a chain $4 connects this washer with the tie 62.

It is evident that thegpin 56 in a sense performs two functions. It serves to connect the bracket plate 54 to the lever arm L, and by effecting this connection in turn prevents disassembly of the hook 53 from the cross pin 52.

When it becomes desirable to disassemble the hook 53 from the cross pin 52, the cotter key 6B must first be removed. The pin 55 can vthen be withdrawn and the bracket plate 54 removed from the position in which it restrains the hook 53.

The reverse of this operation is carried out in assembling the connection, that is, the hook 53 is first positioned over the cross pin 52, whereupon the bracket plate 54 is brought into position between the free ends of the arms 44 and 45, and the pin 56 inserted through the aligned openings and held in that position by the cctter key 60.

From the foregoing it is apparent that provision is made for operatively connecting the lift link 4| which extends through the front gang and the rear lift link to the lever L, which is in turn connected to the rock shaft 4D.

Moreover, the connection is one of the detachable type and is effected with a minimum of parts.

Also, an improved joint between the arm 2:6 of the rear gang and the rear lift link 30 is provided, and is of a type which permits no parts to become accidentally misplaced.

While a preferred specific embodiment of the invention is hereinbefcre set forth, it is to be clearly understood that the invention is not to be limited to the exact constructions, mechanisms and devices illustrated and described, because various modincations of these details may be provided in putting the invention into practice within the purview of the appended claims.

I claim:

l. In a cultivator including a rock shaft, a front lift link, and a rear lift link formed with a hook at its free end, means for operatively connecting said lift links with said rock shaft comprising a U-shaped lever having spaced arms and drivably connected to said rock shaft, a cross pin extending between said arms receiving said hook, a bracket plate carried by said front link and positioned between said arms to prevent withdrawal of said hook from said cross pin, and means for maintaining said bracket plate assembled between the free end of said arms.

2. In a cultivator including a rock shaft, a front lift link, and a rear lift link formed with a hook at its free end, means for operatively connecting said lift links with said rock shaft comprising a U-shaped lever having spaced arms and drivably connected to said rock shaft, a cross pin extending between said arms receiving said hook, a bracket plate carried by said front link and positioned between said arms to prevent withdrawal of said hook from said cross pin, and a headed pin extending through aligned openings in the said bracket plate and arms.

3. In a cultivator including a rock shaft, a front lift link, and a rear lift link formed with a hook at its free end, means for operatively connecting said lift links with said rock shaft comprising a U-shaped lever having spaced arms and drivably connected to said rock shaft, a cross pin extending between said arms receiving said hook, a

bracket plate carried by said front link and positioned between said arms to prevent withdrawal of said hook from said cross pin, a headed pin extending through aligned openings in the said bracket plate and arms, and means for maintaining said headed pin assembled in said aligned openings.

4. In a cultivator including a rock shaft, a front lift link and a rear lift link formed with a hook at its free end, means for operatively connecting said lift links with said rock shaft comprising a lever of U-shaped formation deiined by spaced arms joined by a bend, means for establishing a driving relation between said lever and said rock shaft at said bend, a cross pin extending between said arms and receiving said hook, a bracket plate carried by said front lift link and positioned between the free ends of said arms to prevent removal 0f said hook from said pin, and means for maintaining said bracket plate in assembled relation between said arms.

5. In a cultivator including a rock shaft, a rear gang of cultivating elements and a front gang of cultivating elements, means for operatively connecting said gangs to said rock shaft comprising a lever arm drivably mounted on said rock shaft, a front lift link operatively connecting said front gang to said lever arm and detachably pivotally connected to said lever arm, a rear lift link for connecting said rear gang to said lever arm, means comprising a hook-like connection between said arm and said rear lift link so arranged that the said link can be detached from the arm by movement 0f the link in a direction transverse f to the direction in which it moves when working,

and said iront link when connected to said arm lying in the path taken by the rear link when moved to so disconnect it from the arm, whereby the rear link can be attached to or detached from the arm only when the front link is detached from the arm.

WESLEY A. HARPER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 721,502 Carter Feb. 24, 1903 1,335,725 Clemens Apr. 6, 1920 2,264,575 Knapp et al Dec. 2, 1941 2,309,221 Smith Jan. 26, 1943 2,361,122 Raney et al. Oct. 24, 1944 2,409,510 Mott Oct. 15, 1946 

